Crimson Stronghold

I would not have left the capital even if the king himself had ordered me because the life of my friend was in danger. But that idiot, himself, insisted that I had to get away from there and for him I would do anything. Similar to me, he had sent all the other blade generals away form capital. The idiot does not want us to get into trouble if his plan fails.

Seriously if he has to take such big risks why send us away. Haven’t we all seen and faced the worst together. Individually each of us are powerful and together we are a force to reckon with. If he had not send us away, we would have atleast made sure that we all get out of the capital alive.

I just hope his plan works and he is successful in apprehending both of his elder brothers, the princes. The King was a fool to not claim his bastard son as his heir. Even if he was not born of the queen he still had the King’s blood.

Atleast I can take comfort knowing that Azure and Violet will be able to finish their task quickly and head out to help him faster than the rest of us.

So I should also focus on doing this quick as well. However to take the impenetrable fort is no easy task not to mention time consuming. Nobody has been able to capture it since it has been built and the last siege lasted nearly a year.

Disastrous. That’s what it was.

But I have no other choice than to quickly conquer this impenetrable fortress if I want to go back soon. And to do that I would have to gamble with my life. More so than usual.

In order to do the impossible I have to do the unthinkable. And I am prepared to do it.

It is a good thing that I have a habit of walking amongst camps before and after every battle to know the thoughts of my soldiers and to give them hope. Otherwise I might have missed the low morale that I encountered in my front line troops.

And if that were not corrected my plan might have failed today. Therefore I immediately corrected this error on the spot and scolded my captains for their irresponsibility. How could they have made such a grave error as to not check on their troops’ morale before the attack?

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However the sad thing is that no matter how much morale is boosted, most of the frontline will perish if my plan is to work. But that is the cost I have to pay. They need to be sacrificed if the majority needs to live. All this is to be done while giving them hope just so they can make my plan work better.

To show my soldiers my confidence in victory, I ride with them in the front lines. Little do they know that this is part of my plan?

“CHARGE WITH ME MY SOLDIERS.” I shout at the top of my voice and ride.

We run towards the wall no formation and no arrangement, just running to them and screaming at the top of our lungs. As soon as we enter in the range of the archers, a rain of arrows is released on us.

Soldiers to my left and right fall one after the other. I slow my advance and focus on survival. While doing that, I dodge and deflect in the showiest way I can so that the commander of the wall notices me.

Volley after volley of arrows are shot at us yet my soldiers press on but to no avail. All I can hear is the screams of my soldiers dying. A necessary sacrifice for the greater good.

When my captain gives me the signal that more the half of the front line has been sacrificed, I order retreat.

“RETREAT.” I shout and the horn for retreat is sounded.

The soldiers immediately pull back to preserve their lives, not wanting to stay another moment under this rain of arrows.

I retreat slowly while still dodging and deflecting until finally the rain of arrow stopped, probably not wanting to waste arrows on us. After making sure that no more arrows are coming I turn around and run as well. However I am not suppose to make it back safely so I trip and hit my head.

I lay there pretending to be unconscious hoping the commander of the wall notices me and is quick enough to act.

My captains do a great job to not let anyone notice that I am not amongst them.

Finally the commander of the wall notice my condition and send in a party to retreat me. And as planned, my captains start a little unrest amongst the army. It is important if this need to work.

My captains make a fake desperate attempt to rescue me back but to no avail as the archers on the wall do their best to keep them away.

Finally a party of horse riders came, put me on an empty horse and took me back while I pretend to remain unconscious preparing myself for what is to come next.

Because it is time to do the unthinkable.